What is Bible Repentance?

Introduction

We hear many preachers encourage us to "accept Jesus as my personal Savior." These words are not found in the Bible anywhere.

To the Christian Jesus is our personal Savior. But these words leave out an essential part of the gospel message - repentance.

Instead of preaching repentance the Christian world preaches "accept Christ," This permits us to accept Christ with the mind of emotions painlessly and with no inconvenience.

Repentance implies an action on the part of the person who has fallen away. Repentance is one of the hardest, if not the hardest, commands that God has given to man.

J. W. McGarvey wrote, "The greatest obstacle to the salvation of men is the obstinacy of the human will."

"Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself." - Leo Tolstoy.

Muslim proverb: "If thou hearest that a mountain has moved, believe it; but if thou hearest that a man has changed his character, do not believe it."

Discussion:

Repentance has always been God's message to fallen man - important.

Old Testament exhortations to repent.

At the center of every prophetic message is the call to repent. Nineveh repented at the preaching of Jonah, even though we have no record of them being told to repent.

New Testament exhortations.

John the Baptist preached repentance.

Jesus preached repentance. …for I did not come to call the reighteous, but sinners, to repentance. (Matthew 9:13; Luke 13:3,5).

In Luke 13:1-2 - Jesus mentions those Pilate had killed while they were offering sacrifices. They were not greater sinners than anyone else. All must repent (Luke 13:3).

Luke 13:4 - Jesus mentions those on whom the tower of Siloam fell. They likewise were not any greater sinners than anyone else. All must repent (Luke 13:5).

The repetition of those verses suggests that the Holy Spirit wanted to make sure we did not miss the message.

Peter preached repentance (Acts 2:38).  The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9 (KJV)

Paul preached repentance to the idolaters in Athens.  And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: Acts 17:30 (KJV) . "ALL" need to repent.

What Repentance is not:

Repentance is not merely being sorry for our sins. It is a necessary condition, but it is not the same as repentance.

Example - Judas is said to have repented - Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, Matthew 27:3 (KJV) A different word for repent is in Acts 2:38.

Herod was sorry about promising Salome anything, yet beheaded John anyway.

 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. 2 Corinthians 7:10 (KJV) Godly sorrow is a humble heart, which realizes our sins have offended God. It precedes and cause repentance.

Not just a resolve to do better (Example - New Year's resolutions). Human determination is easily broken.

Not covering up sin (2Sam 11, David and Bathsheba).

Not conviction of sin.

Necessary. The sinner must realize his lost condition.

Peter convicted people of sin, but they still needed to repent (Acts 2:37-38).

Not penance - an activity done in an effort to atone for one's sins. True repentance will cause one to try to make restitution.

Not confession of sin.

Pharoah confessed, but continued to hold Israel in bondange.

King Saul said, "I have sinned," but he continued trying to kill.

Not just quit sinning. (Example - quit drinking because of effect on family, work, or embarrassment; quit permissive sex because of fear of AIDS, etc.). Some children at home change behavior due to consequences, but no real change.

What is repentance?

Thayer defines repentance thus: "To change one's mind for the better; heartily to amend with abhorrence of one's past sins." Repentance is a change of mind, leading to a change of life. John the Baptist said, "Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance": (Matthew 3:8, NASB).

Repentance involves 3 aspects of our being.

Intellectual - "change of mind, a recognition of sin as involving personal guilt, defilement, and helplessness." Paul once thought he was right, but when Jesus entered his life, his thinking changed.

Emotional - "change of feeling. Love God instead of sin. (1)  If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. (2)  Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. Colossians 3:1-2 (KJV)  Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 1 John 2:15 (KJV)

Volitional (will) - "a change of purpose, an inward turning away from sin, and a disposition to seek pardon and cleansing." This is a decision we make. We now want nothing to do with sin.

Repentance "calls for total surrender, total commitment to the will of God." (Kittel). One preacher has suggested that the word that best sums up repentance is "surrender."

That makes repentance very difficult. Difficult to commit. Difficult to surrender to another.

We commit to a job until more money comes along.

A sports star signs a big contract and announces that he is committed to making the team a winner. But let him have a big year of two and he suddenly wnats to renegotiate his contract.

People commit to a marriage until problems develop; until someone more exciting or attractive comes along, etc.

Repentance is an immediate chagne in your life from all your sins. That is what makes repentance so hard.

To many accepting Christ means only a gradual change in your life brought about by God working in your life. It is what is sometimes called cheap grace. We accept Christ at one time, and then later, or maybe never, we surrender ourselves to Him.

Example - Norma McCorvey has defected to the pro-life movement. She's been baptized, been hailed on the 700 club as a victory for God. However, she still has a relationship with a woman named Connie. When some one asked about that, the one who baptized her said, "You just watch what God does in her life as she follows him." She said, "I might walk away from Jesus before I'd walk away from Connie".

Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; (Jonah 3:10; Ezekiel 18:21, 27-28, 30-31).

The people at Ephesus burned their books (Acts 19:19).

The prodigal son came home (Luke 15:17-20).

 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17 (KJV) In Romans he said we have died to sin.

Simple Sermons That Teach, Jerry & Paula Bates, pp. 132-38